Female body hair highlighted in Brighton Fringe exhibition

STARE offers an exhibition of female body hair for the Brighton Fringe.

The show is the debut exhibition from Ripple Art Collective. The group of women open conversations on body consciousness and other issues concerning society, sexism and gender.

They promise an exploration of body hair and society's relationship with it – in a mixed media show including illustration, photography and film from Hazel McCoubrey, Lucy Le Brocq, Veronika Teo and Amy Anam Cara.

Spokeswoman Hazel said: “Throughout the process of creating the artwork the artists let their body hair grow, some for the first time since adolescence. This exhibition documents their journeys, questions that were raised and what was experienced.

“Lucy is a photographer and conceptual artist focusing on creating lustful and sensuous images depicted in colour, black and white 35 mm film and experimental digital photography. Portraying the truths of 'real' women and the body hair that is so often disguised, ripped off or hidden. The models are exposed and styled in 'traditional' sexy poses in their own environments.

“Veronika is a visual artist exploring identity and the relationship with our own bodies, how much from what we do to our bodies is choice and how much is social construct.

“For a long time she has been questioning her own body hair and what it means to her. From being bullied, feeling disgusted, ashamed, unsexy, dirty, wrong to feeling more accepting, real, soft, Veronica has documented her journey growing her body hair and gathering lots of positive but also less positive responses from viewers about female body hair.”

Hazel combines a soft illustrative style with images of female body hair to show the beauty of the natural body, she says: “Although initially appearing serene there is an underlying theme of lethargy in the work.”

This represents the frustration and exhaustion experienced during the process of letting her body hair grow and the impact it had on her day-to-day life, Hazel says.

“The work explores the idea that by doing nothing we are making a statement to society provoking a reaction that leaves us worn out.”

The exhibition runs from May 14-19 at ONCA, 14 St George's Place, Brighton.